Taff Trail Brecon-Cardiff

Banjo · 1 Jun 2009

Did it today about 55 miles end to end plus a couple back to the car.

Bit hot but much of the trail is shaded by trees so not to baked!

Mike Rudkin very kindly drove me up to Brecon so I left my car in Cardiff .

Nice Easy canal path from Brecon.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/VEGA165/Taff Trail/001.jpg

Pictueresque Talybont reservoir.

Then the 7 mile bank forestry track up to the summit at 450 meters. The gradient is quite manageable even for a beginner like me but the surface is quite rough.I only did 6 mph here mostly due to the surface.

Relief to get to the top.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/VEGA165/Taff Trail/010.jpg

Then down the other sidebut still slow due to surface of track.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/VEGA165/Taff Trail/011.jpg

Great relief to get onto tarmac again especially the downhill traffic free road from Pontiscill reservoir to Pontsarn which was smooth fast and no cars :biggrin:

Scenery is very varied from Stunning beauty of the beacons to rough back lanes through valleys towns I got through lots of water and cola that I took with me. Carried 3 spare tubes plus an entire mechanics toolkit

buit luckilly didnt need any of it.

The signage was great. I printed off the route instructions from the Taff Trail website and used these occasionally but didnt need the maps I carried.Went the wrong way and ended up doing about 2 miles on a barely ridable track but found the trail again (not blaming the signs,I must have missed one)

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k5/VEGA165/Taff Trail/026.jpg
something tells me this isnt right :biggrin:

My bike is a hybrid aluminium with no suspension (will nick the wifes suspension seat post next time) Tyres are 32 mm slick Michelin Pilot Cities. Rugged commuter tyres.

Fairly tired partly due to the heat but really glad I went. A MTB would be much better on the tracks but less good on the tarmac. On average my bike was ideal.Average speed 9.3 but I wasnt rushing at all.

Well worth the effort Cheers to those who have managed to read this far

Angelfishsolo · 2 Jun 2009

Nice one mate. Congratulations on completing the ride. It is truly beautiful in places isn't it?!

jig-sore · 2 Jun 2009

well done. mmm, looks very nice.

hope you got rid of that dodgy looking bloke hanging around your bike :whistle:

my father-in-law lives in Neath, some nice places to ride if you've got the legs

Taff Trail Brecon-Cardiff

Banjo

Fuelled with Jelly Babies

Angelfishsolo

A Velocipedian

jig-sore

Formerly the anorak